Even [the article’s] co-authors have downplayed it, with one calling it a mere ”plausible scenario.” Science magazine reported that another admitted that the ”life expectancy forecasts might be inaccurate.”

There’s also evidence that getting moving is more important to living longer, healthier life than just losing weight. One commentary found, “Obese men who were moderately/highly fit had less than half the risk of dying than the normal-weight men who were unfit.” Another study in the European Journal of Epidemiology found that leisure-time physical activity is associated with a lower risk of early death in middle-aged men, independent of body-mass index.